Small elongated objects, usually referred to as nanowires, nanorods, nanowhiskers, etc. and typically including semiconductor materials, have up till now been synthesized using one of the following routes:                liquid phase synthesis, for example by means of colloidal chemistry as exemplified in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0054004 by Alivisatos et al.,        epitaxial growth from substrates, with or without catalytic particles as exemplified by the work of Samuelson et al. presented in WO 2004/004927 and WO 2007/10781, respectively, or        gas phase synthesis by means of a laser assisted catalytic growth process as exemplified in WO 2004/038767 A2 by Lieber et al.The properties of wires obtained using these routes are compared in the following table.        
MaterialWidth/lengthStructuralScalability/costqualityand size controlcomplexityof productionLiquid phaseHighThin/shortLOWHigh/HighMedium controlSubstrate-HighAll/AllHIGHLow/HighbasedHigh controlLaserMediumThin/longLOWMedium/assistedMedium controlMedium
Consequently, the choice of synthesis route is a compromise between different wire properties and the cost of production. For example, substrate-based synthesis provides advantageous wire properties. However, since wires are formed in batches, the scalability of the process, and thus the production cost and through-put, are limited.